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Opinions? Due to the difficulty in buying .22 ammo...and the fact that it can carry farther than I'd like if I miss Fluffy, I'm leaning toward a shotgun to go after the tree rats next Fall. I've got a 12 gauge already...is a 20 gauge better or worse?
Opinions? Due to the difficulty in buying .22 ammo...and the fact that it can carry farther than I'd like if I miss Fluffy, I'm leaning toward a shotgun to go after the tree rats next Fall. I've got a 12 gauge already...is a 20 gauge better or worse?
Why not an air rifle? Quieter, ammo is plentiful and less expensive, more precise for fewer misses and if you do miss, not generally a problem.
Nice air rifle with a good scope and no one will even know your shooting. They have some real nice semi and fully automatic models too. A little pricey but there is no recoil for a PCP gun, accuracy that rivals anything else you might use and it isn't like you might hit a close by bird either.
No need to kill the squirrels if you just don't want them around. They make felt cleaning pellets that will sting them really good but not even break skin. That way you're rid of the squirrels but can also get rid of mice or real rats if the need arises.
I haven't had squirrel dumplings in a long time... I've gotten too citified I guess.
If I were getting a dedicated squirrel gun, I'd have a look at a pump or break-action .410 first. Or maybe one of those .22LR/.410 combo guns by Rossi.
The miserly shot load in a .410 makes hitting moving targets (birds) extremely difficult, but a still target is easy out to about 30 yards with 3" shells loaded with 6-shot. My old single-shot Savage .410 helped me kill quite a few squirrels and rabbits as a youth.
If not the .410, my next choice would be a 20ga. A 12ga for slow-moving small game just seems like overkill to me.
As for the first reply, whether the meat is squirrel, rabbit, dove, duck, deer, moose, pig, or cow, an animal must die before you can eat it.
I haven't had squirrel dumplings in a long time... I've gotten too citified I guess.
If I were getting a dedicated squirrel gun, I'd have a look at a pump or break-action .410 first. Or maybe one of those .22LR/.410 combo guns by Rossi.
The miserly shot load in a .410 makes hitting moving targets (birds) extremely difficult, but a still target is easy out to about 30 yards with 3" shells loaded with 6-shot. My old single-shot Savage .410 helped me kill quite a few squirrels and rabbits as a youth.
If not the .410, my next choice would be a 20ga. A 12ga for slow-moving small game just seems like overkill to me.
As for the first reply, whether the meat is squirrel, rabbit, dove, duck, deer, moose, pig, or cow, an animal must die before you can eat it.
Warning, OT:
Not so far in this forum but elsewhere, there are those who swallow camels whole but choke on mice so it seems eating them live is possible.
Opinions? Due to the difficulty in buying .22 ammo...and the fact that it can carry farther than I'd like if I miss Fluffy, I'm leaning toward a shotgun to go after the tree rats next Fall. I've got a 12 gauge already...is a 20 gauge better or worse?
Worse. I mean, it has less payload and is slightly harder to find ammo for, if push comes to shove, and it will cost you a lot more money to acquire one vs. not spending a dime because you already have the 12ga.
I have a cheap break-open 20ga single shot. Works great for squirrels with #5 shot, and I haven't had any problems at all finding 20ga ammo. Little buggers have been stripping my pecan trees bare every fall, and I am NOT gonna take it anymore!!
I have a bolt action 20 and I love it. It's kind of punishing to shoot though. When I was out on the East Coast, I got involved with Turkey shoots. I had a couple 12's that I liked, but my son, 12 yr old at the time, didn't want to shoot the 12's, so I bought that 20. I didn't notice a lot of difference between the kick of the 12 and the kick of the 20.
If I were getting a dedicated squirrel gun, I'd have a look at a pump or break-action .410 first. Or maybe one of those .22LR/.410 combo guns by Rossi.
Rossi also has a .22LR/20 ga. combo, which could do the OP very nicely.
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